Who works out?????

[Coupe Devil]

Who of yous guys and ladies work out on a regular basis? For weight loss, do you do it for your health or just enjoy it?
I am starting my own weight loss program today. After my last doctor's office visit, and them making we get on the scales (why do they do that, I mean, I REALLY dont want to actually know) I realized I am a Tub-O-Lard and need to drop a few pounds. I am a meesly 5'10" and tip the scales at about 215 right know. I'd like to get down to about 185 in a few months. Any ideas on what works for you. Weight loss is my main concern know and I will address muscle mass, strength and tone later as I reach closer to my desired weight.

Brad

[StoplightWarrior]

I lift on a regular basis. Not for fitness necessarily, more so that I can kick some ***. I'm not huge by any means, but I do alright. One thing I've noticed is that it's a lot easier to see gains when you have a lifting partner who pushes you. When I'm on my own, it's like, "Cmon, you can do three more reps," then after two more, "Alright, that's good enough " Having someone around who won't let you slack off is a tremendous help.

[7000rpmisheaven]

I've got one thing to tell you. You said that your main concern is not muscle mass. Increasing your muscle mass will increase your bodies ability to burn fat. Do some research on "resting metabolic rate". Diet is the most important and I have two thoughts for you about that. First, its not going to happen over night. Devise a diet plan and expect to stick to it for a couple months. Second write down what you eat. start a journal. I use one of those black and white composition books. On the left side I right down a plan. I will usually take a look in the kitchen and plan what to eat the next day. On the right side I write what I actually ate. The idea is that you are not going to get the diet right the first time. If you wrote everything down you can look back and try to figure out what your doing wrong. Good Luck and whatever you do don't quit. Find something that motivates you and concentrate on it. The thought girls in bikinis usually keeps me motivated

[1969Mach1]

I'm more the less on a opposite kind of diet. I'm trying to gain weight. I'm 6' and only 130 pounds. Yeh I know I'm not that big at all, but I think I'm a pretty good fighter, I got good stamina and pretty quick. Although I don't go fighting people cause anyone who is alot bigger then me will just throw me around. But I'm trying to gain weight. I'm taking weight gainer, working out during my lunch our, + I have gym first period right now I have a hour of hockey everyday before school so that is helping my workout. My ideal weight is to be around 150 or so. But in a few months. I am trying to eat alot more, but more health food too. Like I have alot of fruits, cheese, bread, not just junk food.

Good Luck with your diet, and workout.
§am.

[7000rpmisheaven]

1969mach1 I'm a hardgainer like you are. I am 5'11" and didn't weigh more than 135 all through high school. I am 165 now and still going. It sounds like you are overtraining. If you overtrain you will never give your body enough time to grow. The idea for building muscles is to go to the gym and tear up your muscles. When your body goes back and fills in the cracks you will get bigger. If you tear up the muscle faster than you repair it you will never grow. I gained 20 lbs since this time last year. I stopped overtraining and started resting and EATING.

Brad usually I wouldn't have any thoughts about losing weight. Being a hard gainer I never really thought about weight loss. But I gained alot of weight in the past year and a handful of it wasn't muscle. I wanted to get really cut again so I did alot of research about weight loss. I thought I would share some of what I learned.

[blue00gt]

I lift weights 2-4 times a week and do some type of cardio almost every day. I definitely agree with 7000rpm - building muscle mass is key to losing weight. Everything you do burns more calories if you have more muscle mass. Also, I have seen much better results if I work out each muscle no more than 1-2 times per week. I am 5'10" and weighed 130lbs out of high school. I weigh 180 lbs now and am still steadily gaining about 5-10 lbs of muscle per yer. When I was younger I used to go to the gym less frequently and try to work out everything each time, which didn't seem to work so well. It is better to go more days per week and do fewer muscles each day so that your body can build them back. Stretching is also very important for maintaining flexibility with growing muscles, and I read in a magazine that if you stretch the muscle you are working lightly between sets you gain strength faster. Working out opposing muscles seems to work better for gaining strength for me (chest and back one day; bi's, tri's and stomach and lower back the next day; legs the next day) although some folks advocate working out muscles that work together (chest, shoulders, and tri's; back and biceps, etc...)
My main reasons for working out are to look good, be able to eat more without gaining weight (simple pleasures), and so that I can break loose those tough nuts and bolts .

[silver_pilate]

Reguardless of how you tailor your workout routine, you will likely see results in the first month of working out. I've seen people loose up to three pounds per week after they began working out.

There are many, MANY different workout protocols out there, each one claiming to be THE way to workout. It all really depends on your goals.

One plus of working out is that no matter which way you choose to go, you're likely going to see some strength increases. A lot of people out there don't engage in weight training simply because they're not wanting to "bulk up." What a load of crap. Sure, you will see some muscle hypertrophy with weight training, but it takes a very specific type of high intesity, short duration, maximal effort lifting to see significant hypertrophy, not to mention the diets these body builders are on. Studies have shown that weight training is one of the best ways out there to loose weight. This is because it typically keeps your VO2 levels in the mid-range of around 45-50%.

When you exercise, the intensity of exercise will determine the type of substrate that is burned. Very high intesity exercise (in the 70-80% VO2 range) will burn predominantly carbohydrates in the form of glucose and later glycogen as glucose stores are depleted. This is because the glycolytic system is the quickest form of energy production other than the ATP-Creatine Phosphate system (which is depleted within the first 10-20 seconds of exercise).

(If you don't want to read some pretty technical stuff...skip this paragraph)

In other words, when you demand energy from your body, it complies with the most efficient method. When at rest, for instance, your energy demands are low. At this time, the body can afford to use protein as a primary energy substrate. Oxidative deamination breaks the proteins into amino acids which are then either used to build glucose or converted directly into pyruvate to be converted to Acetyl-CoA which will be used in the Kreb's cycle to produce 6NADH-H+ and 2FADH+ which are then used as hydrogen carriers to the electron transport system to produce large quantities of ATP . When working at submaximal levels up to around 45% of the VO2 max, the body predominantly uses the betaoxidation of triglycerides (fats) to produce energy by converting them to pyruvate to undergo the same process. Recall that pyruvate will either be converter to Acetyl-CoA in the presence of O2, or the hydrogen's carried by the NADH-H+'s will be transfered to the pyruvate via the LDH enzyme to form lactic acid. If lactic acids builds up in the system, it lowers the pH which has an inhibitory effect on the enzymes of metabolism (anaerobic muscle fatigue).

All of that technical jargon boils down to this: weight training is great for weight loss and fat burning because it typically keeps your VO2 levels in the 45% range where fats are burned as the predominant substrate for energy. Those people who jump on the treadmill and balls-to-the-walls it for 20 minutes aren't really burning fat. They are burning mainly carbohydrates. They are pushing their bodies into that 75-90% VO2 level. Eventually they will hit "the wall." At this point, the carb stores of the body are depleted and they're not going to effectively continue. Remember, fat burns in the flame of carbohydrates. Keep your exercise intensities moderate for best fat burning results.

That's not to say that hard running is bad. On the contrary, it's great for cardiovascular endurance and overall health. Cardio training will have the effects of lowering heart rate and blood pressure within the first couple of months. It just isn't the best for burning fat.

If you're still reading at this point...I applaud you for your persistance and dedication . Wow...I didn't even have to look in my notes (got a midterm in clincal applied phys. on this stuff tomorrow).

--nathan

[Coupe Devil]

Thanks all that have responded so far. I am about to leave work and go to teh gym. I'll let you know how dead I am after I get home tonight. I used to work out but only half-***$ed it when I did and only seen moderate results. Now that Im fat, from sittin on my butt all winter and having a desk job I gotta drop some poundage. I figures this is better than buying new clothes to fit to. That would get expensive.

Ultimate goal-------- Three months weigh 185, decent muscle tone, and better health. The muscle mass isnt as important to me as being fit, healthy and "CUT". If it will help the process to get physically a bigger chest, arms, legs, and back so be it. I just dont wanna be a freak.

What about supplements? Weight loss, absolutley no steriods, dont wanna be a girly talkin sissy man that can bench 600 lbs. Good idea, Bad Idea? What are soem of the most effective vitamin stype supplements that will SAFELY (if this is possible) achieve my goal.

And 7000, those bikini girls are nice arent they.

Brad

[1969Mach1]

I don't think it's from over doing myself cause I also have weekends which I usually rest, and last year I had fitness and weight training class. I was running about 15km (9 miles) a week, + skipping for 20 or so minutes, and doing about 12-14 minutes of stairs (going up and down stairs), + working out 2-3 days of the week, and once I stopped I didn't gain much at all. Although I was very in shape. But I'm thinking of joining a gym if I can't get in the weight room during lunch hours at school. Either way I just want to gain weight and be alittle stronger for kicking *** purpose. =)

[Mach 1]

pony power 90 - just keep it simple...calories in, calories out. If you take in a lot more than you put out, you will gain.

Low carbs diets work for a lot of people, but I dont think one thing is right for everybody.

Just try to eat less, eat healthier, and exercise moderately. Any kind of exercise. Jogging is good but a lot of people hate it. Bike riding, roller blading, do some push ups around the house, whatever, just eat less, exercise more and drinks lots of water, and you will see results.

[91PA5liter]

Pony Power- if you really want to lose some of that weight try walking for like 30 min a day and work your way up to jogging after a few weeks. Alot of people think that just by lifting wiehgts that they will lose weight, which is somewhat true. You'll be losing some fat but also gaining muscle which weighs more then fat so when you step on the scale you'll be about the same weight. So just try walking around the block or whatever it will help you see better results faster. Sorry if i'm repeating someone else but i didnt really read every word of this thread. And good luck with your diet.

[Ponycar_302]

I came in the world fat and bald, and I'm going out the same way.

If you're looking to lose that much weight in so little time try combining the Atkins Diet with your workout. I used it and lost 18 pounds in two weeks, and I'm a slug! You can get the book at Walden Books for about $15.

[onefastlx420]

if you want to loose it quick do the protein power plan, i weighed 240 and i got down to a solid 210 in 8 weeks, i also have a good bit of muscle mass, as far as working out try this, just do one body part a day but really concentrate on it, do chest on mon, legs and back on tue, shoulders on wed, arms on thur, rest fri and then do a light entire body work out on sat, it doesnt sound like much but you will be very impressed with the results

[WADS56]

I hit the weights every morning after work. My senior year in highschool I was 6'7 and 150lbs Now I weigh 220lbs and I still look like a rail I am prety strong but never get any credit because I look like a wet noodle. I guess it's kinda of a good thing though because most people underestimate me.
I use meal replacement powders (Met-RX, Myoplex) and eat lik a hog when ever I can. Sooner or later it will pay off.

[7000rpmisheaven]

Originally posted by 91PA5liter
Pony Power- if you really want to lose some of that weight try walking for like 30 min a day and work your way up to jogging after a few weeks. Alot of people think that just by lifting wiehgts that they will lose weight, which is somewhat true. You'll be losing some fat but also gaining muscle which weighs more then fat so when you step on the scale you'll be about the same weight. So just try walking around the block or whatever it will help you see better results faster. Sorry if i'm repeating someone else but i didnt really read every word of this thread. And good luck with your diet.

While walking is better than doing nothing at all it is not the best way to lose weight. You will not see better results faster with walking instead of building muscle. Find one article that says it does and send it to me if you want to make a point. If you want I will find you ten articles that prove mine.

It takes the average body 45 min to burn the fat in the bloodstream by walking. So while walking is better than nothing at all, 30 min a day will do little for weight loss.

onefastlx420- I agree strongly with your plan for working out. I think that people losing weight and those looking to gain should follow the same workout plan and that the diet should vary. I workout every day but usually only train two muscle groups. By going everyday not only do I get 10-15 of cardio everyday but I also keep my work outs 30-45 min.

silver pilate- "I don't want to lift weights because I don't want to look like bodybuilder" This is a huge pet peave of mine about fitness in general. What people don't understand is that you are not going to look like that unless you try really hard to. And even if you do try to look like Mr Olympia you probably won't. For most of them they really have to devote their life to it.

[silverv6]

Im gona start again cuz im in bad shape well IM not fat or skinni im just not like i used to be. Wen I got out of high school I could bench 230 I know thats not to much but for me in my sinior year it was for my hight 5' 7" and weight 180 I was taking cratine. But after school I slaked off and I dropeed from 180 to 150 I think most cuz of my night job It kills me alot but starting monday I start a new job in the after noon and get out at 10pm . my other I started at 5pm and got out at 230am

But starting monday im gona start lifting again I got weights in my house but working grave yard shifts got in my way of working out. But Im gona start takin SOme protein shakes Im gona buy Nitro Tech and Cell Tech I wana get back on the size I was or even get in better shape now and I wana be hable to bech 220 or even more

[91PA5liter]

7000RPM- its pretty comonly known fact that by walking or doing any aerobic excersize it helps speed up your matabolizum and makes you digest food quicker and use the nutrients more efficiently. Also i was saying to use the walking with the lifting because that will give you results quicker. I'm not like a dietary physician or anything but i've gotten myself into pretty good shape from running and lifting. I have been running for 4 years now and i'm 6'2 180 lbs. I could find you an article to back this up if you really want me to. Hope this clears some stuff up. later

[7000rpmisheaven]

This is kinda long but it is a pretty good article. I got this out of "physical magazine"

95PA5liter- if you have an article you were talking about send it to me. I am always interested in learning knew things. This just happens to be one of those things that I base some of my knowledge on. But I know it is a tricky subject and everyone's got a different idea.

Aerobics vs. Weight Training for Losing Fat
By Will Brink


Most people assume that aerobics is good for burning fat, while weight training is good for building muscle. But is it that simple? The answer is a resounding no. Recent research shows that weight training is actually superior for losing fat.

It’s a little-known and under-appreciated fact that the more muscle you have, the higher your resting metabolic rate (RMR) and the more calories you burn. Several recent studies have found that resistance training maintains RMR better than aerobics. Researchers have also shown that resistance training is far superior to aerobics for maintaining the metabolically active muscle tissue you need for a superior fat-burning metabolism.

Your metabolism is the rate at which your body oxidizes (burns) calories to live. About 5% to 10% of your total daily energy expenditure is used to convert the food you eat into fuel or fat. Another 20% or so is used up by exercise and the everyday physical activities of life. However, the biggest block of energy is consumed by your RMR, which accounts for up to 75% of your daily expenditure.

Your RMR is basically the amount of energy used to fuel essential functions, such as temperature regulation, breathing and blood circulation. With the RMR accounting for this big chunk of your daily calorie consumption, it behooves you to focus on it as a key component of your weight-loss program.

Can the RMR be altered? Of course! While your RMR is ultimately controlled by your genetic makeup, your age, gender and body composition also play important roles. People who are naturally blessed with a higher RMR can burn up to 200 calories more each day, even when they perform the same activities as their lower-RMR counterparts. And if you increase your caloric expenditure without upping your caloric intake, the end result will be a loss of body fat.

A study at West Virginia University showed how much better weight training is compared to aerobics. Twenty subjects were put on an 800-calories-per-day liquid diet for 12 weeks. Half of the participants (the aerobics group) exercised for one hour four times per week by walking, biking or stair climbing. The other half (the weight-training group) lifted three times per week on a 10-station circuit-training program. While the aerobics group did lose more body weight, the reason was that they lost more lean muscle mass (almost 10 lb in only 12 weeks). The weight-training group lost fat without losing any muscle tissue. Also, the RMR of the weightlifters rose significantly, while the RMR of the aerobics group actually declined!

As you can plainly see, weight training is superior for losing fat without the loss of muscle mass. Aerobics has its place, of course, for maintaining cardiovascular health and providing a supplemental way to increase caloric expenditure. However, if an athlete who wants to burn fat has limited time, I would recommend weight training over aerobics any day.

[Skyman]

Working out is weird.

I was working out like crazy for a long time, and seeing almost no gains... Slowly a little here or there.

Im 6'1 and always right around 165-170. When I was pounding 6 meals a day and always feeling like I was gonna throw up I got to 177, but I think it was just having more food packed inside me.

I stopped working out for the past 5 months or so and was only eating 2-3 meals a day, 2 most of the time and I never got below 163lbs.

Some of us our bodies just wont let us change!

But I just got started working out again last week, and I hit the gym and did 225 6 times on the bench after not working out for a long time, i was pretty surprized with myself. But man am I Sore!!

My room mate is 5'11 215 and he just gains weight and strength like crazy. I swear its not fair. Hes benching over 350 now. Its just really hard for some of us.


Skyler

At the moment not weight training,but have in the past...planning to start up again..

went from 150lbs from junior high school to 190 now...I'm 5'7

All I can tell ya is eat right,read and then decide for yourself what protein supplements to take, and dont overtrain and most of all keep your workouts interesting cuz if not,you'll lose interest and quit..